View source for Post:Gods and Symbols - 8/11/2008 - 5:05:34

{{Post
|a=DR-ARMIFER
|t=Gods and Symbols
|d=8/11/2008 - 5:05:34
|n=1893
|f=The Moon Mages \ The Astral Plane
|c=r
|p=There are entities in the Plane of Probability that are, to use a risky adjective, godlike. They are reputably intellects with vast supernatural power, seemingly immortal, and their malice is only limited by the planar void. Modern Moon Mages have only glimpsed at two of a rumored five -- Abyssal Child, Arbiter in Darkness, Emperor of the Line, Entropy's Glory, Servant of Fate -- and never have the advantage when it happens.

But they are not gods; in fact, they are the furthest thing from it.

The mana spectrum that most magicians are familiar with can serve as a microcosm for the universe. Ruling over all is the divine and supporting all from beneath is physical law. Where the two meet in relative harmony, we find the creation of animate matter.

Sometimes things are not harmonious between the One and the Void. When an echo of the law shapes the divine, a portion of that fathomless majesty is given structure, finitude, and the rudiments of what you could call a personality. These are gods in the truest sense, beings with divine authority over the universe and the self-awareness to exercise it.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, a flicker of the divine may be felt down in the bedrock of the universe. Where the divine touches the law, a stark concept or structure is given animation and a kind of immortality. These are among the grandest of the Plane of Probability's denizens.

To put it another way, you could imagine that authority and creative power over the universe trickles down from the top. At the top are the gods, who have lost only enough of infinity to develop sentience. At the bottom are the animistic spirits who, though they are aware, embody a thing with every thought and fiber of their beings. The spirits do not create physical law and can only be said to rule over it in the same way Elanthians rule over their flesh.

While gods sit on the throne of creation, the great spirits of the Plane of Probability are more akin to symbols come to life. Though they are "mere" symbols, wise Moon Mages remember that their powers come from realms where even a simple thing as the absence of light might have the means and malignant will to hunt them across the planes.

-[[Armifer]]
}}